Related Articles

The time capsule is one of several which have featured in the show, one of which was buried under the Millennium Dome in 1998 and is not due to unsealed until 2050.

Petra the dog was the first Blue Peter pet and appeared on screen between 1962 and 1977 and had several puppies.

A statue was erected in the garden after Petra’s death but in 2008 a former editor of the show, Biddy Baxter, disclosed in a book that the dog loved by millions was an emergency stand-in after the first one died just two days after its only appearance.

The sunken pool was targeted in an act of vandalism which was soberly reported by Janet Ellis, one of the presenters, after the incident in 1983.

She told viewers: “One really cruel thing they did was to pour fuel oil into the fish pond.

“Well we’ve drained the pond and we’re rescued some of the fish but a few of them of have died and the oil itself has caused a lot of damage.”

The original garden opened in 1974 and was cared for by the show’s gardener, Percy Thrower, until November 1987.

At the time, he said the vandals must have been “mentally ill”.

Ten years ago, the footballer Les Ferdinand, who lived nearby as a child, admitted that he had been there on the night of the vandalism but had merely helped a few people over a wall.

Removals experts said the basic cost of a move such as Blue Peter’s would exceed £2,000 but could go much higher if any of the items required special care or equipment such as cranes to place the largest pieces – such as the totem pole – onto the roof.

A spokesman for Bishops House, a relocation firm based in Crawley, West Sussex, put the basic cost at £2,100.

Blue Peter is the world’s longest-running children’s show and has become a fond fixture in many people’s childhood.

It is one of many programmes which are being relocated to the new Media City site in Salford as the BBC moves north.

Asked if items from the garden would be moved, a spokeswoman for Blue Peter said: “We hope so. We want to preserve the iconic pieces but it’s not confirmed yet.”

She added: “We’re creating a new rooftop garden here in Salford – it’s not a question of moving the garden from London.

"We are still discussing what will happen with the Blue Peter garden in London but we’ll make sure all the important memorabilia will be preserved.”

The White City site is due to be sold in a few years.

The move to the new site has been controversial, with some high-profile staff unwilling to make the move despite generous relocation payments of up to £46,000 reportedly being offered.